Stop Taxing Food Seeds and Plants!

Shortly after President Obama took office, one of the pieces of green news was that Michelle Obama had started an organic garden. This inspired many people who hadn't gardened before to grow their own. Growing your own has the benefits of you knowing what is in the soil, the produce being fresh, reducing the amount of transportation and storage needed for what we eat, and by hopefully reducing costs for the gardener/farmer.

However, while such food as Twinkies and pork rinds are not taxed, such items as spinach seeds and tomato plants are in New York and many other states. This is anti-green, as it makes it more expensive for the gardener or farmer to grow food and thus more likely to buy supermarket food, which may have been transported thousands of miles and treated with pesticides and preservatives. Plus, making it more expensive to garden is anti-health, as gardening is a healthy, educational activity and the fresher the produce, the healthier it is.

It is for these reasons that I ask that the sales taxes on food plants and seeds be discontinued.

Shortly after President Obama took office, one of the pieces of green news was that Michelle Obama had started an organic garden. This inspired many people who hadn't gardened before to grow their own. Growing your own has the benefits of you knowing what is in the soil, the produce being fresh, reducing the amount of transportation and storage needed for what we eat, and by hopefully reducing costs for the gardener/farmer.

However, while such food as Twinkies and pork rinds are not taxed, such items as spinach seeds and tomato plants are in New York and many other states. This is anti-green, as it makes it more expensive for the gardener or farmer to grow food and thus more likely to buy supermarket food, which may have been transported thousands of miles and treated with pesticides and preservatives. Plus, making it more expensive to garden is anti-health, as gardening is a healthy, educational activity and the fresher the produce, the healthier it is.

It is for these reasons that I ask that the sales taxes on food plants and seeds be discontinued amd that such states as New York, join such states as Connecticut in not taxing food seeds and plants.